Lakers rumors: No ‘unanimous’ support for signing Chris Paul if he is released

After hiring JJ Redick as head coach, the Lakers face a number of decisions in the coming week. Player options across the roster take a lot of internal decisions off the Lakers’ hands, but there’s still plenty to consider.

Externally, the Lakers will be looking to add to a team that suffered a gentleman’s sweep in the first round against the Nuggets, and one of those options many have speculated could be Chris Paul.

The Warriors guard has a massive $30 million contract for the 2024-25 season that is completely non-guaranteed, but that deal will become fully guaranteed on Friday, June 28, giving Golden State a fast-approaching deadline to decide.

While the Warriors will likely be on the phone trying to find a trade for that contract, a $30 million tax break would save them a small fortune. When Paul becomes a free agent, the Lakers’ contract will make sense on paper, and even more so after Redick is hired.

For one thing, LeBron James and Paul are Banana Boat buddies. For another, Redick was a teammate of Paul’s and the two have been friends since that time on the Lob City Clippers.

It has been reported previously that the Lakers could be an option for Paul if he hits the open market. But as sensible as the move may seem on paper, it is not fully supported by management, at least according to Marc Stein in his latest Substack newsletter.

I keep hearing that if Paul does indeed become a free agent at some point, he would draw interest from both the Clippers and the Lakers. Paul’s desire to play as close to his LA-based family as possible is well known, but I’m told that interest in bringing him to the Lakers may not be unanimous within the organization, despite Paul’s well-documented friendship with LeBron James.

There are many reasons why Paul should be tied to the Lakers, but not many of them have to do with their current roster, as there is no hole at the guard position.

D’Angelo Russell’s future could open up a lot, but even without him, the Lakers have Austin Reaves, Gabe Vincent, Jalen Hood-Schifino and probably Max Christie. They will also either have Russell or, most likely, an exception to sign another potential guard.

So for Paul, it’s not a clear decision. He’s also very old by NBA standards, just turned 39 in May, and hasn’t played 60 games in the last two seasons due to injuries. For a team that had a lot of injury problems last year, that’s not the kind of player they’ll be looking for in free agency.

Paul could be an option for the Lakers this year, but it is not a given and not a unanimous decision.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.